Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

Hellboy Showed his Mortal Side

All of us in the Rays Republic knew this day would rear its ugly head. That we would have to admit to ourselves that sometimes the most golden of arms can have their tarnished and iron pyrite moments. That somehow reality would thrust itself into our belief system that Tampa Bay Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson was in fact a mire mortal.

Maybe it was that unrealistic pinning of the name “Hellboy” that gave us all the Superhero image and hope of an immortal hurling the rock every 5 days. Since the Rays disposed of the word “devil” back in November, 2007, we have all collectively awaited the appearance of a sorcerer on the hill that possessed evil, mean and nasty breaking stuff and held his pitch execution as the weapon of his opponents demise. Maybe the nickname just helps his establish and embellish the tales and legend a bit, making him seem invincible, even in the Spring.

On Saturday, we found out this unique player we have hoisted skyward as an equalizer is human after all. In possibly his worst outing as a professional, Hellboy showed the Rays Republic that he can be hurt. That sometimes the executioner’s axe can fall either way. It was a bit painful to visualize as Hellickson endured his vanquish and suffering solo on the mound somehow surrendering hit after hit that transformed into an insurmountable mountain of runs until finally Rays Manager Joe Maddon possibly saw the fire finally extinguished in Hellboy’s eyes.

Hellboy faced 22 Twins sluggers and surrendered 11 hits and 10 runs and was removed after facing 3 hitters in the fourth inning. Hellickson basically gave up hits to 50% of the Minnesota Twins line-up and offered up 2 Home Runs to Minnesota Twins DH Justin Morneau. Hellboy today met the arch-rival who could somehow steal his thunder and produced his own. Morneau was the most prolific Hellboy assassin producing a perfect 2-for-2 day with 5 RBI. All this from a hitter that has posted a .154 average this Spring.

Suddenly the magic that Hellboy conjured up with 2 strikes on his adversaries was hindered and missing. Breaking pitches that used to drop magically into the strike zone missed while his blazing fastball seemed mire 10ths of an inch away from their desired locations. Even with his execution flawed on this day, Hellboy only gave away 2 free passes (walks).

People forget that MLB pitchers have bad days, that even with the Sun bright and the temperatures optimal for success, sometimes the magic is not there and loss is on the horizon. In 30 starts during a season, you have to realistically expect turmoil and troublesome outings that defy the usual and showcase flaws, faults and possibly adjustments.

On Saturday Hellboy just reminded all of us he is a developing pitcher, not a defined and machine yet on the mound. Maybe this all happening is a good thing? Hellickson’s next start could be against the Pirates or Phillies, but beyond that on the horizon might be a rematch with these Twins and a possible shot at redemption on April 3rd in the Rays Grapefruit finale. Common sense rules that Hellickson will not pitch in that final game, but wouldn’t be a great confidence building moment if he came out and tossed some scoreless frames against the same squad that brought him back down to Earth.

Who knows if 2 Springs from now this might be the defining moment of Hellicksons emergence into the MLB top ranks, the low point that propels him upward and onwards. Be honest here with yourself for a moment, during the sophomore seasons of David Price and James Shields, we expected the same magic and brilliance that made us put them on that tall pedestal and think of them in immortal terms after their own rookie campaigns. Maybe this short fall from grace was a good thing.

Hellboy will be fine. Even though he now boasts a horrible 15.30 ERA this Spring, there are positive things to take from this outing to work on, break down and make into a learning experience. This outing should not worry us at all, sure we saw a cog in our pitching machine strip a gear today,but there are positives that will evolve out of this. Hellboy will not lose his rotation slot because of this, he will get a better understanding of his faults and flaws in his craft way in advance of the first series in April.

This outing also prepared all of us for the reality that Hellboy is a developing pitcher who still has kinks and flaws to his game. It also showed us that his immortal and unrealistic expectations were vivid in our collective minds, that his nickname associated with an imaginary Superhero might indeed come with a cost. But most of all through his day of human frailty we saw that Hellboy is adamently determined and prepared for whatever his arch enemies do to him. You can be sure he has always washed this outing from his skin and is already preparing for his next start, possibly showing us why we gave his that immortal status in the first place.

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